Synopsis
The Bundeswehr has arrived at a decisive “turning point” (“Zeitenwende”): in Schnöggersburg, Europe’s biggest military model city, defending the nation and the alliance is not just rehearsed, but also directly taught. Marie Wilke’s sober, focused observational documentary puts together a 360-degree view of its subject, which captures the current state of the German army from different perspectives. Between press appointments, swearing-in ceremonies, visitor tours, roleplays and an artificial underground train tunnel, the process of adapting to the present becomes visible. With a sound grasp of representative situations and communication nodes, Wilke gets close enough to her subject to illustrate its complexity – while retaining exactly the necessary distance for open, critical engagement. The shots are mostly static and impartial, bearing witness to a Bundeswehr searching for its self-image while in the midst of grappling with the past, state-of-the-art war simulations and an uncertain future. Szenario is a portrait of an institution that just as equally depicts the society and politics that produce it.
